The Coach Cassie has been taking the luxury handbag community by storm- but is it really a replacement for the Pochette Metis?
Tag: Louis Vuitton
Where to Buy Preloved- Tradesy
Tradesy has the honor of being the first online store I ever bought a preloved item from. It was an Alma PM and it was $300. It worked perfectly in my law student budget and it made me feel so legit. (Yes I still say legit all the time. Yes I know there are better works but nothing describes my feeling of carrying that LV bag then legit!)
Since then I have bought a couple different bags from Tradesy. I picked up a Chloe Mini Marcie at the time they were super popular for about $300 off and I bought my 25th birthday present to myself, my Chanel Diana, from Tradesy as well. I have even picked up two SLGs- the Louis Vuitton continental multicolor blanc wallet and the Louis Vuitton Compact Zippy in Damier azure.
I also unfortunately have bought two fake bags on Tradesy. I’ll tell both stories below and in both instances Tradesy refunded me even for one that was at least a month later.
So first the not as exciting story plus a little known fact about Tradesy. Starting with the Tradesy fact- you can contact Tradesy regarding authenticity of your item and they will send you a shipping label so you can send it in to be authenticated. You can then specify that they send it back to you once it’s authenticated or you can request a site credit. In this instance I had purchased a beautiful vintage Dior bag in a lovely shade of grey. When I got the bag it just didn’t feel high enough quality to be authentic but I don’t know much about vintage Dior. I sent it in and unfortunately it ended up being a fake. Tradesy refunded me my money promptly.
The second story is actually crazy. I bought a beautiful vintage Chanel crossbody in black lambskin with gold hardware from a reputable seller who also ran a consignment boutique in the states. This would have been my first Chanel bag ever and I did not know of Tradesy authentication policy at the time. But I wasn’t worried because the bag came with an authentication certificate from Authenticate First, a third party authentication service I had used before. So I received the bag and admired it but noticed the authentication certificate wasn’t as clear as I would like. I messaged the seller and she apologized and promised to email me the electronic copy. I waited a bit and then kept reaching out to the seller who never responded. Needless to say the electronic copy never came so I reached out to Authenticate First to ask them to email me an electronic copy. When I emailed Authenticate First they said sure and could I send over more information so they could locate the certificate. I scanned what I had and email it to them. Authenticate First promptly replied that the seller had faked the authentication certificate and showed me what was wrong on the certificate. By this point I had solidly had the bag for a month (maybe even longer). I reached out to Tradesy with what I had found out and they had me send them a copy of the emails and certificate. Once they got that the information they sent me a return label. When they got the bag they refunded me. I was shocked and very happy with this customer service because I had at this point had the bag for almost two month! Moral of the story: Tradesy does say everything is authentic but it is possible to get a fake bag. If you do get a fake bag Tradesy will help you get back your money.
Pros of Tradesy
- FREE AUTHENTICATION SERVICE- seriously this is very nice and is available for anything you buy on Tradesy.
- Lots of vintage bags which are often not available on sites like Fashionphile and Rebag.
- Some great deals to be found! Plus you can always message the seller and see if they are willing to negotiate with you.
- Buyer and Seller Protection
- SALES- Tradesy often has sales that are either a set amount or a percentage off! These sales can really provide a discount so make sure to take advantage of them.
Cons of Tradesy
- Not all bags are authentic
- Sellers get to choose their list prices so they can often be way over retail or over the general price on the preloved market.
- If you do sell an item on Tradesy it takes forever for you to get your money via paypal. And to make it worse they add another fee to transfer it out of Tradesy– this is on top of the 20% fee of the sale they already take.
Have you seen the rest of my places to buy preloved series? If not check out my Fashionphile review and my The Real Real review.
Cheaper Pochette Metis? The LV Vintage Monceau
If you have been following me for awhile you will know that I love my Louis Vuitton Pochette Metis. I bought my initial one about 4 years ago from France but last year that bag had glazing problems as was replaced. Since then I have had no issues with the bag and still love it. But I know before LV got rid of the waitlist that the Pochette Metis was like impossible to get. So in comes the cheaper Louis Vuitton Monceau. A lot of people call this the vintage Pochette Metis. And for all you bargain lovers this bag is much more reasonable as well (all are under $1,000)!
Louis Vuitton SLG
After voting on my insta stories, Louis Vuitton SLGs won out over a Senreve review (which don’t worry is coming.) I personally find myself only buying LV SLGs. (If you are wondering what SLGs are they are small leather goods- wallets, cardholders, pouches- basically anything that is not a handbag.) Luckily for us pre-loved lovers (or anyone who likes a good discount), LV SLGs hold up well and are prevalent on the market.
Louis Vuitton Wallets
Price-$250
Retail- $780
Price-$525
Retail- $1,050
Damier Graphite Compact Modular Wallet
Price- $395
Retail- $650
Porte Tressor International Wallet
Price- $350
Retail- $635
Price- $395
Josephine Monogram Wallet Blue
Price-$305
Retail- $480
Louis Vuitton Cles/ Key Pouch
Price-$123.75
Price- $143.46
Price- $225
Vernis Key Pouch Pomme De Amore
Price- $265
Retail- $350
Multicolor Key Pouch Blanc White
Price-$265
Price- $101.25
Price-$250
Retail-$390
Louis Vuitton Camera Bags
I love Louis Vuitton but the recent price increase has me shying away from buying new and has had me scouring the preloved market for some older, vintage bags. I think there is a lot to like about vintage Louis Vuitton bags. The quality of the canvas is much better, the craftsmanship is exquisite and the price is amazing for a luxury bag (nothing in this post is over $500!). Below I have rounded up some of my favorites at various price points. (I know that buying preloved and vintage pieces can be a little scary but you can always use an authentication service to confirm that you are in fact buying a real designer piece.)
Louis Vuitton Cartouchiere MM
From- TheRealReal
Price- $475 (Retail- $1,240)
Louis Vuitton Cartouchiere MM
From-Tradesy
Price-$434.34 (Retail-$1,240)
Louis Vuitton Kenya Fawn Epi Leather Cartouchiere MM
From- Tradesy
Price- $394.20; retail- $1,350
Louis Vuitton Cartouchiere MM
From- Tradesy
Price-$269.50;retail-$1,240
Louis Vuitton Trocadero 27
From- Tradesy
Price- $310.50 (currently 10% of list price); retail- $1,200
Louis Vuitton Noir Epi Leather Trocadero
From- Tradesy
Price- $299.70 (currently 11% off list price); retail-$1,350
Louis Vuitton Trocadero 27
From- Tradesy
Price- $217 (currently 14% off); Retail- $1,200
Louis Vuitton Trocadero 27
From- Tradesy
Price- $370; Retail- $1,200
Louis Vuitton Blue Epi Leather Trocadero
From- Tradesy
Price-$293.50 (currently 14% off); Retail-$1,350
Louis Vuitton Nile Bag
From- Tradesy
Price- $302 (currently 14% off); retail- $1,460
Louis Vuitton Nile Bag
From- Tradesy
Price- $331.60 (currently 5% off); retail-$1,450
Louis Vuitton Nile Bag
From- Tradesy
Price- $306.60 (currently 10% off); Retail- $1,450
Bag Hunt- Why You Should Purchase In Europe
I am a legendary handbag hunter. I find a bag I want and I go on the hunt to find it. Plus to make my life a little more challenging I have to find it under retail even if the search takes a year. So when my family decided to go to Europe I could not contain my glee! Immediately I started listing out all the bags and slgs (small leather goods) that I wanted to purchase from the various fashion houses. My family immediately questioned why I couldn’t just buy these goods in the US, so naturally I had to explain.
- High End Designer Goods in Europe Retail for Under Retail in the US– This is true of all designers that are based in Europe. So for example Louis Vuitton bags retail price is lower in France then in the US. Plus the country where the fashion house is based is generally the cheapest place to buy the goods in Europe. But word to the wise do not buy US based fashion brands in Europe. I was looking at Coach in Europe just to look and the prices were crazy!
- The Euro and The Dollar are Very Close in Value– When I was in Europe the Euro to Dollar was about 1 Euro to 1.10 Dollar, so the lower retail prices in Euro equated to a lower purchase price in Dollars. Of course this value fluctuates but in general the Dollar and the Euro have been much closer in value than a couple years ago.
- The VAT taxes– The tax amount for luxury goods in Europe is included in the price that you see on the price tag. So unlike the US you are not paying more on the good you purchase. Plus if you are not an EU citizen then you get back a percent of the VAT tax you pay. This percentage ranges based on the country. This website is incredibly helpful when looking at what percentage you will get back. (just in case the hyperlink doesn’t work- https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/vat-rates-in-europe).
TIPS
- Bring your passport with you! To get your VAT tax exemption forms correctly filed out at the store you will need to show your passport to your sales person.
- Spend over the VAT amount! In order to get your VAT taxes back you need to make sure to spend over the minimum threshold. This does not have to be on one good just need to be on your total purchase. This amount varies by country.
- Get the VAT tax amount back on your credit card! You do have to wait a little longer to get the VAT tax amount back on your credit card but the amount you get back after fees is higher then when you go to the cash window at the airport.
- Get your refund at the last European country you are in! You cannot obtain your refund until you leave the EU.
- Allocate time at the airport! The VAT process to obtain your refund can be really hard or very easy. It all depends on the country, the refund company and the amount of people traveling. For example if you are using Global Blue its often just a scan of the documents in a machine and dropping them in a box. But there are other times where I have had to talk to an agent, show them my goods and have them hand stamp it. This all depends on where you buy your item from. In my experience I have had the easiest time with LV and the hardest with Gucci.
- Get your refund before you check your bags! As I explain below you might have to take your new purchase to the refund agent.
- Make sure your goods are packed on top of your luggage! When you pack make sure your new purchases are easily accessible! I have had to dig through luggage because the refund agent wanted to make sure that I had not used the bag and actually had the bag in my possession.
- Do not use your goods before you leave the country! If the refund agent asks to see your purchase they will expect to see a purchase that has not been used and is in its original packaging. While it is tempting to use your new purchase don’t because they can deny you the refund!